The Antique 19th Century Northern Indian Mughal Diamond And Enamel Meenakari Ring

This stunningly intricate ring, circa the 19th century, hails from Northern India. A mughal cut diamond sits at the heart of the head, exuding light and glowing beautifully, quirky and captivating in its style. Surrounding it, lined detailing carved into the high carat gold settings, which are embellished with enamel in red, blue, white, black and green. Each shoulder holds a further Mughal diamond, set high in an embellished setting, leading to split shoulders and a heavily enamelled band of great beauty. The diamonds are foil backed and grain set.

The Mughal diamond cut developed during the height of the Mughal Empire, when cutters were working with high-quality rough diamonds and were determined to keep as much of the original stone as possible when cutting. Instead of chasing sparkle, they favoured broad tables and relatively shallow shapes that preserved size and showed off the diamond’s natural clarity.

The Mughal-style cut can be seen in the famous Taj Mahal Diamond, a 17th-century Indian stone dating to the reign of Shah Jahan, which Richard Burton gifted to Elizabeth Taylor for her 40th birthday in 1972.

Whichever angle you view this ring from, it reveals more detail. The back of the rounded head hosts further enamel inlay, a red flower with vivid green leaves on a white background, with green enamel to the back of each shoulder, only visible when the ring is not on the finger, a secret detail for just the wearer to enjoy.

This style of enamelling is known as meenakari; a piece may look impressive from the front, but when you turn it over the back is often even more beautiful, covered in colourful enamel flowers and delicate patterns. The technique was popularised during the Mughal Empire.

Please note that this ring is currently on display at Hemswell Antique Centres and will have a delivery delay of 3-4 working days.